Method and apparatus for annealing or cementing various articles.



. G. RIGHTER.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ANNEALING OR GEMENTING VARIOUS ARTIGLBS.

APPLIGATION I'ILED MAY 29, 1913.

Patented Sept. 1. 1914.

GEOBG BICETEB, OF STETTIN,

GERMANY, ASSIGNOB T0 STETTINEB CHAMOTTE- FABBIK AKTIEN-GESELLSCHAFT YORHAIS DIDIER, OF STETTIN, GERMANY,

a coarona'rrbu or GERMANY.

nn'rrron m Arrnnurus ron Amme on cmmn'rmd vanrous anncnns.

Spec'lflca'c'ion of letters Iatent.v Animation and lay 29, 1913. man no. 170,569.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

To all whom z't may concem;

Be it known that I, Giiono Ricirrninasubject of the German Emperor, and a`resident of Stettin, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements. in Methods and Apparatus for ealing or Cementing Various Articles,.of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved heattreatment and to apparatus for conducting such treatment, as inannealing or 'cementf ing various articles, for instance malleable' castings.

'According to my present invention, the articles to be treated are caused to travel continuously and while thus in motion they are s'ubjected successively to the' action of heatingtga'ses and of cooling gases, both ofl which are' arranged to travel transversely of the directionl in which the articles are proceeding, ;the transverse gas-currents flowing alternately in opposite directions.

An apparatus suitable for carrying out my new process is constructed with a assage or tunnel through which the articles to be treated are caused to'travel lengthwise, said apparatus or fumace being subdivided into a number of compartments or-zones through which the beating agent and the cooling agent areconducted alternately in opposite directions as theaarticles travel through the furnace.

The advantages of my improved process and apparatus consist in the fact that the operation is continuous and' furthermore in the securing of a -practically uniform heating and cooling effect respectively in the successive portions or zones of the furnaoe.

A specific example of a furiiace constructed according to my invention will now, be described with referenceto the accompauying drawings, and the novel features of the improvedy process 'and apparatus will then be inted out in the appended claims.

igure' 1 is a' horisontal section iof the furnace, taken on. the line A-B ofFi 2,; Fig. 2 is aeross section on the line C-- of Fig.-1;1 Fig. 3 isr a partial lon itudjnal sectionftaken onthe-line E-F ol Fig. 2; and ..4- a cross section ou thefiine G-H of ig..1.

The'articles orinaterial to be sublected to the treatment anneeling or cementation are put infcylindric boxes or receptaclesl dsnding on cars or trucks 1tearranged to 2 by means of similar baflle 36' 1tion 13 fromthechannel section 14, and in a travel on rails 3 extending at the bottom of the longitudinal passage 2 of the furnace.

ln the example shown, each truck carries four. receptacles 1 and is provided with a longitudinal partition 6 extending between the two rows of receptacles and Perforated -atits lower portion, as indicated at 5. The receptacles or cans 1 are in close contact with the partitions 6 and come very close to the side ;walls of the passage 2. Each two trucks constitute a carriage unit. On two receptacles. 1 located at one'end of a carriage unit is placed an arched member 7 constructed of refractory material and extendmg almost into contact with theside walls of the passage 2 and with its roof 8, which is ofunf orm height and shape throughout the length of the furnace. The arched members 7 travel with the trucks 4: and divide the interior of the passage 2 into a number of successive zones or compartments designated by the reference characters I, II, I'II, to IX inclusive, each zone being approxnnately 'co-extensive with one carnage unit.

At each sideithe furnace is provided with coinbustion chambers 9 and 10 -respectively, :is-well as with channels 11, 12,- 13, and 1-1 for the combustion gases and with channels 15, 16, lf, and 18 for the cooling agent (cool air). As shown in Fig. 1, the combustion chamber 9 and the connecting channels 11, 12, 17 and 18 on one side of the furnace are out of transverse alinement with the combustion chamber 10. and with the connecting channels 13, 14, 15, and 16 respectively on the other side of the furnace. The channels 11, 12,113, and 14 serving to'conve (the combustion 'gases communicate with t e passage openings 19, and similarly, openings 20 lead into the assage 2 from the channels- 15, 16, 17, and 18 servin to convey the cooling air: With the com ustion chamber 10 is connected a channel 21, arran :opposite the-combustion chamber 9. I e latter communicate's with the passage 2 by means of openiii s 22, while the combustion che-mbar 10 an the channel2l are co 23 with the said passage2 by openings The channels or channel ctions 11, 12 are separated by a partition or bafile 36, a

separat the channel seclike manner, there is a hafile 36 between the of transverse alinement, or in staggered fashion on opposite sides of the passage 2, and the distance between successive battles is about equal to the length of one of the zones I, II, etc., or in other Words, to the distance between two adjacent arched members 7. As more fully set fort-h hereinafter, these various channel sections, 'battles and arched members compel the hot gases and the air to travel in the zig-zag paths indicated, crossing the longitudinal passage 2 repeatedl \y in opposite directions. It Will be understood that the channel sections on opposite sides of the central passage 2 communicate with each other through portions of said passage.

All the openings 19, 20, 22, and 23 communicate with the passage 2 at a level immediately above the carrying platform of the trucks 4. The cooling air channel 15 is connected with the surrounding air at one end. as at 24. The cooling airchannels 18 and 16 are connected with the combustionV chamber-s 9 and 10 respectively, by channels 27. 28 and 25, 26 respectively. The channels 26, 28 convey primary air to the ashpits under thegrates 30,29, 'while a secondary supplyof air is conveyed by the channels 25, 27 to the combustion chambers 10 and 9 re icctively, above their grates. 'l`he excess o cooling air is carried away through channels 31, 32 (Fig. 4) connected with the channels 16 and 18, and if desired, regulating slides or dampers (not shown) may be provided in these channels. The

spentcombustion gases or WasteI gases esca pe from the channel 14 by way of a smoke fine' 33 connected with the stack 34. At'

each end of the passage 2 I provide slides 35 made of sheet-metal or other suitable material, for the purpose of closing said ends.

My improved process is carried out as follows by means of the furnace described above: The trucks 4 carrying the rece tacles 1 with the materialer articles to e annealed or cemented, are caused to travel Vthr'oinrzh the furnace stepwise in one direction (from right to left in Fig. 1), the operation of the furnace being continuous; the material or articles to be treated will thus first reach zone I, then they Will be advanced to zone II, after staying there for a suitable length of time` they will be transferred to zone III. and so on from zone to zone until zone IX is reached. The co'mbustion gases coming from the grates 29 of the combustion chamber 9 reach the passage 2 through the openings 22 stream across said passage in zone V, and thus strongly heat the material or articles contained within that zone. The gases then travel through the openings 23 and the channel 21 to the other combustion chamber 10 and become mixed with the combustion products risin from the grates 30 of said combustion chanfimr 10. The gases then pass through the openings 23 into the passage 2 and cross the latter in zone IV, in the direction opposite to their path through the zone V; the material or articles contained in zone IV are thus subjected to a high degree of heat. Thereupon the combustion gases pass into the channel 11 through the openings 19 at the left-hand end of said channel, and from the right-hand end of the channel 11 the gases reach the passage 2 through the openings 19 at that end, crossing the zone III in the direction opposite-to the flow of the gases in zone IV. In a similar way the combustion gases are passed successively through the zonesII and I, with the'aid of the channels 13 and 12, and finally the Waste gases escape to the stack 34 through the channel or flue 33, connected With the channel 14. During the passage of the, combustion gases through the zones III, II, and I the temperature of said gases sinks gradually, so that the material in the receptacles 1 is subjected to a. progressively increasing heat as it passes from the entrance (righthand end in Fig. 1) to the central portion of the furnace. The cooling air enters the' channel 15 through the opening 24 and then- 100 reaches the passage 2 through the openings 20, whereupon it Streams across the assage 2 in zone IX, to then travel successively in opposite directions through the zones VIII and VII, by way of the channels 17 and 16. 105

'As 1t passes successively through the zones the right'in the-channel 16 and passes to the 'combustion chamber 10, through the channels 25 and 26, to support combustion in said chamber.- Similarly, a portion of the heated air which has reached the channelv 18 after streaming across zone VII, is' led through the channels 27, 28` to support combustion in the chamber 9. The excess of air will escape from the channels 16, 18 through the channels 31 and 32 (Fig. 4)'.

Infmy improved furnace described above the combustion gases and the cooling air pass through the several zones of the passage 2 in'their entire breadth. and I thus avoid the formation of dead spaces in which theheating or cooling gases might become trapped and therefore ineifective.

sively into the several heating and cooling Izones, the articles being advanced trans- A portion of the beating or cooling agent will pass immediately above the carrying platform of the trucks 4, through the openings 5 of the longitudinal partitions 6, while another portion of said agents will fiow over the partitions 6, as indicated in Fig. 2.

Various modifications may be made without departing'from the nature of my invention as setforth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The herein described process for annealing or cementing articles or material, which consists in causing the said articles to travel in a predetermined direction and subjecting them successively to the action of heating currents and of cooling currents conducted transversel of. the first-mentioned direction and a ternately in opposite directions.

2. The herein described process forannealing or cementing articles or material, which consists in causing the said articles to enter a furnace successively and to travel therethrough in a predetermined direction, and causing currents of a heating agent and of acooling agent respectively to fiow alternately in opposite directions through successive portions or zones of said furnace, transversely to the path of the articlesundergoing treatment, so as to secure a uniform heating and cooling of said articles in the successive furnace zones. 4

3. The herein described process for annealing or cementin articles or material, which consists in sub ecting a consecutively arran ed series o such articles to the action of ieatin and cooling currents flowing transverse y of the series at different zones thereof, and advancing said series stepwise so as 'to bring its several ortions succesversely of the path of said currents.

4. An annealing or cementing furnace provided with a longitudinal passage, combustion chambers located at opposite sides of said passage, out of transverse alinement, and channels located in the side walls of' the furnace and communicating with said chambers, the channels on each side of the passage being divided into separate sections, and the channel sections on opposite sides of said assage being connected with each other y successive portions of said passage el the gases from said chamin a single current or stream width of said passage alternately in opposite directions through successive portions or zones of said passage.

5. An annealing or cementing furnace provided with a passage extendin therebers to trave across thefull located at the central portion of the furnace c on opposite sides thereof, longitudinal channel sections located adjacent to said passage and communicating therewith and also with said combustion chambers, bafiles located in staggered arrangement on opposite` sides of said passage and separating adjacent channel sections, an air inlet at one end of the furnace, an outlet for combustion gases, at the other end of the furnace, and means to cause the cooling air to travel from one end of the furnace to the combustion chambers, and the combustion products to travel from said chambers to the other end of the furnace, the stream of cooling air and the stream of combustion products passing repeatedlyacross the entire width of said passa e, alternately in opposite directions.

6. n annealing or cementing furnace provided with a passage extending therethrough lengthwise, combustion chambers located at opposite sides of said passage, channel sections extending along the side walls of said passage and. communicating therewith and also with said combustion chambers, and partitions separating adjacent channel sections and compelling the currents flowing therein to cross said passage in its entire width in order to get from a channel section on one side of the passage to a channel section on the opposite side of said passage.

7 An annealing or cementing furnace provided with a longitudinal assage, trucks adapted to carry the materia or articles to be treated and arranged to travel lengthwise of said passage, channels for causing a current of the treating medium to flow across said passage at different points thereof, and longitudinal. partitions arranged at the central portionsof said trucks and terminating short of the furnace roof so that a portion of the treating current will flow overlsaid partitions, the latter being provided with openings at their lower portions to allow another portion of the treating current to pass in a direct path fromone side of the furnace to the other.

8. A furnace provided with a longitudinal passage for the material to treated, longitudinal chan'el sections ad1acent to said passage, communicating therewith, and baflles separating adjacent channel sections and arranged in staggered fashion on opposite sides' of said passage.

In testimony Whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEQRG RICHTER.

. Witnesses:

Gnoxzoe Lmmqm's'r,

through lengthwise, combustion c ambers Elm. ScH'Mm'r. 

